Adrian studio features tattoo services, art gallery

Monday

Feb 25, 2013 at 8:00 AM

By Arlene BachanovDaily Telegram Special Writer

ADRIAN — Think of tattooing, and perhaps the old stereotypes of who gets tattoos — and who does the tattooing — still come to mind. But to tattoo artists like Tony Harris, the image of body art has come a long way.

"With the reality shows (on tattooing), the industry has finally jumped the fence to where it's looked at as fine art," said Harris. And as far as who actually chooses to get a tattoo, Harris has worked on adults all the way up to a grandma in her 70s, and in fact far more women than men have been his customers.

Harris is the owner of Clockwurk Studio and Gallery — the name comes from his love for the movie "A Clockwork Orange," with a slight change in spelling — at 141 S. Main St. in downtown Adrian. The shop, at which he does tattooing and will exhibit and sell artwork, opened Feb. 13.

The Tecumseh native has 21 years of experience as a tattoo artist, including 15 years in Grand Rapids and owning his own shop in Portland, Ore. He decided to return to Lenawee County, with his fiancee, for family reasons.

Harris honed his early artistic talent by earning his BFA degree in drawing and painting from Grand Valley State University. He decided to become a tattoo artist after he walked into a tattoo shop in Grand Rapids and found his former sculpture professor from GVSU working there.

Although people might not think of it this way, tattooing and sculpture actually have something in common.

"Tattooing is really a 3-D art, because you have to look at where it is on the body and how the body moves there," he said.

And because every person's body is different, "you could put the same tattoo on five different people in the same spot, and it will heal differently and look different on all five of them."

He uses very few pre-created tattoos, called flash designs, in his work, and if he does at all, it's just to give him a starting point. A flash design of a butterfly, for example, turns into a completely unique creation based on what the customer wants his or her tattoo to look like. "I try to make every person's tattoo theirs alone," he said.

And his drawing skills definitely come into play in his work. "Being able to draw is the key to any fine art, and tattooing is just like any fine art," he said. "It's just that your canvas bleeds."

What's the most elaborate tattoo he's ever done? Harris didn't even need to think hard for the answer: a reproduction of a piece of artwork from Dante's "Inferno," showing Lucifer holding court, that he inked on a friend's back and which took 52 hours to complete.

A customer coming into Harris' shop for a tattoo starts off by choosing the basic design. Then Harris draws the design's outline and a color study, tweaks the pattern as the customer desires, and begins work on the design. A small tattoo could be done right on the spot, while a custom design might take a couple of days or more to create before the actual tattoo work begins.

Harris will not tattoo anyone under 18 years of age, even with parental consent.

But body art will not be the only creations available at Clockwurk. Harris is using part of his shop to exhibit and sell some of his other artwork, and plans to have some of his friends' art there in the future as well. He works in a variety of media including painting, woodcuts and prints, and would like to at some point get back to doing another art form he enjoys, ceramics.

"I didn't want this to be a typical tattoo parlor," he said. "I want it to be a gallery of fine art, and for people to know they're getting fine art."Clockwurk Studio and Gallery is open from noon to 8 pm. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Monday hours are available by appointment. Harris can be reached at 264-2162.

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This article was written based on information provided by the business.

Lenawee in Business is a feature of The Daily Telegram business page for new businesses and businesses celebrating a major anniversary. If you have a story for a Lenawee in Business, call assistant news editor Sue Van Fleet at 265-5111, ext. 259, or email sue@lenconnect.com.